Straight and strong screed for a warm water floor

To ensure that the screed for the warm water floor is level and firm, you must strictly follow the sequence of actions.

Arrangement of a warm water floor can be done by yourself.

In preparation for this procedure, you need to calculate what the thickness of the coating will be and how the mortar is laid.

The technology of the filling procedure is well developed, however, in this case there are features that need to be considered.

The installed heating system - pipes, connections, sensors - must be thoroughly checked for service and tested. And only after these actions to start work.

Why screed?

The warm water floor in its structure is a complex engineering structure. Installation and packing of all elements must be done carefully.

Concrete screed performs several functions. First, it rigidly fixes the position of the heating elements. The video shows how the solution is poured onto the stacked pipe system.

When pouring and leveling the surface, you need to act so that you do not move them.

If, as a result of leveling, the pipeline is broken, it will take a lot of time and resources to troubleshoot the problem.

I'll have to drill the concrete foundation to get to the place where the breakthrough happened.

Secondly, the screed is the basis for the floor. It should have a smooth, close to the ideal surface. The thickness of the coating for the water floor is pre-calculated.

The load that acts on the basis of the warm water floor changes when the furniture is moved and in other cases. The strength of the coating is determined by the quality of the concrete mix.

Practice shows that the surface is filled with the most common type of solution. It is prepared in a proportion of 1 to 3 of cement and sand. This composition is easy to mix yourself.

In this case, you first need to estimate the volume of the task and its capabilities. You can use and ready mix, which is sold in the store building materials.

What should I knead with mortar for screed?

In the technology of floor heating, screed laying is considered to be the final stage. A qualitative surface can be made in several ways.

For this purpose:

• concrete mix;
• sand and cement;
• is semi-dry.

Each of these materials has advantages and disadvantages. The composition of the concrete and sand-cement mixture is well known. The technology of solution preparation is simple and understandable even for an inexperienced worker.

Arrangement of coupler semi-dry method is used not so long ago. Practice has shown that it is most often used in the performance of their own hands.

Concrete screed

Filling the screed for the warm floor is made of cement grade M300 and above. When mixing concrete mix it is recommended to use sand of coarse fraction. It provides a stronger grip.

A plasticizer can be added to the solution. This additive gives additional strength to concrete. In the stores of building materials, ready-made concrete mixtures for screeding the water floor are sold.

Sand-cement mortar

Preparation and laying of sand-cement mortar is carried out in the same way as in the case of concrete paving. The thickness of the screed should be the same. Add a plasticizer to the solution.

When working, pay attention to the consistency of the solution. It should not be liquid or thick, but rather plastic.

Quality is determined when leveling. If no great effort is required, then the solution is normal.

Semi-dry mix

Semi-dry mix for screed of a warm floor has a number of advantages over other materials. The porous structure of the material improves sound insulation. When working on screed, water is not used.

The laying of the mixture is carried out in the usual way. The screed dries quickly and thereafter no defects remain on the surface.

The cost of the material is lower than the traditional counterparts. The video on the video is taken when working with a semi-dry mixture.

Video:

Laying technology

When starting to lay the screed for a water-heated floor, one thing should be taken into account. In the array of the tightening layer, strain joints must be laid.

Otherwise, the stacking technology is no different from work on ordinary floors. Doing your own work, this must be remembered.

In small spaces up to 16 sq. M, expansion joints are laid along the walls. In the large room, additional cushioning seams are made.

The damper is laid in the seam.

Such a complex device is required in order to compensate for the expansion of the screed when heated. If there is no such compensation, then the coupler will simply swell.

The minimum thickness of the concrete screed above the heating element should be 5 mm. If it is done less, it will crumble in a short time, unable to withstand the external load.

Excess thickness of the concrete layer will weight the design of the water-heated floor. And this is only one of the negative consequences that arises as a result of violations of existing rules and regulations.

Dry blend, which includes plasticizers, is easy to use, but it needs to be handled with skill. Dilute it with water immediately before laying.

It is also advisable to adhere to the same rule even when kneading a concrete screed.

Preparatory work for

First of all, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the concrete floor of the floor. On the stove, the polyethylene film, which performs the function of waterproofing, is necessarily laid out.

Laying screed without this film is threatened by the fact that moisture can seep into the lower floors. Then on this film it is necessary to lay foam plastic or mineral wool.

These heat-insulating materials are most often used in the arrangement of warm floors.

The heat-reflecting film is laid on the foamed plastic sheets. Heating pipes are already laid on it. Pipes can be metal or polypropylene. Above them is placed a reinforcing mesh of metal.

The next step is to set up the beacons, which should be oriented when leveling the screed. As beacons, metal profiles or large-sized screws can be used.

The height of the screed, as a rule, is from six to seven centimeters. When the beacons are installed, the heating system is fixed according to the design scheme, you can order concrete or dilute the composition, which includes plasticizers.

Before filling it, it is necessary to check the efficiency of the heating system of the water floor. It is important that the coolant circulates through the circuit without interference and no leakage occurs at the joints.

Filling process

Before you build and pour concrete mix, you need to prepare all the necessary tools. For work you need a shovel, mothers and a rule.

Prefabricated concrete is poured on the floor in such a way that its thickness is uniform. The video shows the sequence of actions and the main stages of the process.

Align the layer with the rule. It is necessary to ensure that the surface of the screed is aligned strictly to the beacons.

The technology here is simple, but the artist needs a skill to do this work. Often, all operations are performed by themselves.

Video:

Screed care

The screed for a warm water floor besides cement and sand includes various additives. The screed after grouting requires care. Experienced builders know that the dry screed will crack.

In order to prevent the formation of cracks, the surface of the screed must be periodically watered. According to its physical data, the solution collects strength for four weeks.

Regardless of the thickness of the substrate, the array must be saturated with moisture. In the first 8-10 days, the surface should be wetted with water. Then cover the warm water floor with a plastic wrap and wait for the final hardening.

Final stage

According to the standards, concrete is gaining design strength after 28 days. In practice, this period is rarely observed, and the surface condition is estimated by experience.

At the same time you can walk on the floor, and continue to care for it. Continue and make sure that the dry surface does not have cracks. The minimum load will not bring the screed to the water floor harm.

It is permissible to test the heating circuit before the standard time.

If cracks appear in the screed for the water-heated floor, then the composition of the solution was chosen incorrectly or the sequence of actions was violated.

That's why all the work on the arrangement of the screed for the warm water floor must be carried out strictly according to the instructions.